美国国家公共电台 NPR Classical Music Captures A Young Wife's Anxiety In 'On Chesil Beach'

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

To another newlyweds story and the story of two newlyweds who clash and connect over their differing musical tastes on their honeymoon¹ night. This is the new film "On Chesil Beach." It is based on the 2007 novel by British author Ian McEwan, who's adapted it for the screen. As Tim Greiving reports, it is a story about repression² and how music expresses what words and bodies cannot.

TIM GREIVING, BYLINE³: "On Chesil Beach" opens with a cocksure Edward, played by Billy Howle, mansplaining the blues⁴ to his new wife Florence, played by Saoirse Ronan, who has much more sophisticated tastes.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ON CHESIL BEACH")

BILLY HOWLE: (As Edward) So we're in E.

SAOIRSE RONAN: (As Florence) The tonic⁵.

HOWLE: (As Edward) No, E.

RONAN: (As Florence) All right, E.

HOWLE: (As Edward) So four bars of that. You know the sort of thing. (Singing) Woke up this morning, head felt so bad. Then into A.

RONAN: (As Florence) The subdominant.

HOWLE: (As Edward, singing) Woke up this morning, head felt so bad - same thing, different chord. See?

RONAN: (As Florence) Neat. Tricky⁶.

GREIVING: It's a lighthearted moment on their wedding night when music reveals their differences. But director Dominic Cooke, a veteran of theater making his feature film debut⁷, says as the story goes on, music becomes an outlet⁸ for both pain and passion.

DOMINIC COOKE: It's about a very particular moment, a particular moment in a couple's life but also a particular moment in history - 1962, before the kind of revolution of the '60s kicked in and Britain was still stuck in a very sort of repressed, austere⁹ time. And so it's how these young kids navigate¹⁰ their way through such a kind of difficult and stuffy¹¹ atmosphere.

GREIVING: In the novel, Ian McEwan made music an integral part of the story because as he told NPR in 2007...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

IAN MCEWAN: My life is absolutely permeated¹² by music. And it's part of my own mental furniture, so it often ends up being part of the fate, destiny of my own characters to be either musicians or for music to be something of a key to their character, really.

GREIVING: On screen, viewers see Saoirse Ronan as Florence, a talented violinist with a string quartet. They hear her played by Esther Yoo, a rising star in the classical world.

ESTHER YOO: I got the book, and I read it very thoroughly¹³, paying very close attention especially to Florence's character and her relationship with her instrument and what music means to her and how it makes her feel, especially in contrast to her relationship with Edward often.

(SOUNDBITE OF ESTHER YOO PERFORMANCE OF BACH'S "PARTITA FOR VIOLIN SOLO NO. 3 IN E MAJOR, BWV 1006")

GREIVING: Yoo plays selections by Bach, Schubert and Mozart, many of them pieces written into McEwan's script accompanied by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. She also plays original music by English composer Dan Jones.

DAN JONES: And I sort of love the way that Ian has written the music absolutely into the fabric¹⁴, the sort of DNA¹⁵ of the existence of these characters.

(SOUNDBITE OF DAN JONES' "DATE ON THE RIVER")

JONES: The music I write almost feels like a - not a sideshow, but it feels like it was wanting just to create some space around the intensity¹⁶ and beauty and focus of this classical music which is just so important and written into the film.

GREIVING: In the film, we see the actress appearing to play the violin. But director Dominic Cooke says it took some training.

COOKE: One hand was very accurate. The other hand...

(LAUGHTER)

COOKE: ...I don't want to give the game away - was slightly less so. But, yeah, she learned all the onscreen passages as best she could.

GREIVING: She does OK, says Esther Yoo.

YOO: As a violinist, there are several movies out there where you kind of watch the scenes where there's a string player and cringe (laughter) at the end result. But I have to say that in this film it's been done very well.

(SOUNDBITE DAN JONES' "FEAR OF SEX")

GREIVING: Yoo performed all of the violin solos on the soundtrack, expressing the emotional and spiritual voice of the restrained Florence.

YOO: For Dan's pieces it was definitely very, very important to keep Florence's headspace and all the emotions that she couldn't express verbally - a lot of that came out through the music she played. And Dan did an amazing job of translating that into his music, that inner anxiety and inner fear and trauma¹⁷.

(SOUNDBITE DAN JONES' "FEAR OF SEX")

GREIVING: Esther Yoo was cast like another actor, and director Dominic Cooke says she performed like one.

COOKE: It's a kind of reminder¹⁸ about what being an artist is because I could give a note which was kind of like a note I'd give to an actor about a feeling, and Esther would take that, play the same piece completely differently...

YOO: (Laughter).

COOKE: ...Whilst being very accurate musically. I thought that was so interesting because it makes you realize how much of the person is in the sound. It's not just about the music itself, the instrument and the skillful playing of that. It's to do with the soul of the person and how that comes out.

GREIVING: Maybe the soul of a girl who loves Beethoven and the soul of a boy who loves Chuck Berry just weren't meant to be. For NPR News, I'm Tim Greiving in Los Angeles.

(SOUNDBITE OF DAN JONES' "SOLEMN LOVE")

1 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。

2 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

5 tonic   

n./adj.滋补品，补药，强身的，健体的

参考例句：

• It will be marketed as a tonic for the elderly.这将作为老年人滋补品在市场上销售。
• Sea air is Nature's best tonic for mind and body.海上的空气是大自然赋予的对人们身心的最佳补品。

6 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

7 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

8 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

9 austere   

adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的

参考例句：

• His way of life is rather austere.他的生活方式相当简朴。
• The room was furnished in austere style.这间屋子的陈设都很简单朴素。

10 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

11 stuffy   

adj.不透气的，闷热的

参考例句：

• It's really hot and stuffy in here.这里实在太热太闷了。
• It was so stuffy in the tent that we could sense the air was heavy with moisture.帐篷里很闷热，我们感到空气都是潮的。

12 permeated   

弥漫( permeate的过去式和过去分词 )； 遍布； 渗入； 渗透

参考例句：

• The smell of leather permeated the room. 屋子里弥漫着皮革的气味。
• His public speeches were permeated with hatred of injustice. 在他对民众的演说里，充满了对不公正的愤慨。

13 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

14 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

15 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

16 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

17 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

18 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。